BOX SCORE
WEST HARTFORD, CT - The University of Hartford men's basketball team opened America East play with a 64-54 victory over the University at Albany on Saturday afternoon at Chase Arena at Reich Family Pavilion.
Hartford (5-9 overall, 1-0 America East) led 27-25 at the half and never trailed in the second stanza. Sophomore Morgan Sabia scored 14 of his team-high 16 points in the second half and also added six rebounds. Will Harris led all scorers with 17 points for Albany (8-6 overall, 0-1 America East) and added a game-high 10 rebounds. Both Sabia and Harris were named Nestle PurinaONE America East Players of the Game.
Hartford started the game slowly, missing its first five attempts from the floor and falling behind 6-0. Albany led 10-3 before the Hawks finally kicked their offense into gear, reeling off a 13-2 run to take control. Hartford's first lead came at 13-12 when freshman Genesis Maciel made a layup and was fouled. He made the ensuing free throw, and sophomore Anthony Minor added a layup minutes later to cap the run.
The Hawks held the lead until a layup by Brian Connelly put Albany up 24-23 with 3:26 remaining in the half. Hartford took back the lead on a pair of free throws by sophomore Andres Torres and got a layup from classmate Kevin Estes to close out the half with a 27-25 lead.
Albany kept within striking distance for the majority of the second half. Trailing by six with 11:07 to play, the Great Danes pulled to within one following a pair of free throws by Harris and a three-pointer by Billy Allen. Albany had a chance to take the lead on its next possession, but another three-point attempt by Allen came up empty. Senior Jaret von Rosenberg then found Sabia on the other end for an open three to make it 47-42 with 9:29 to go.
Hartford held a seven-point lead when Albany made its final push, scoring five straight points behind a Harris three-pointer and free throws from Connelly to cut the margin to 51-49 with 5:52 remaining. The Hawks, however, answered with a 9-0 run that was fueled by back-to-back three-pointers by Sabia. His final trey put Hartford up 60-49 with 2:46 to play.
The Hawks played well defensively, forcing 19 turnovers and holding leading scorer Tim Ambrose (12.0 ppg) scoreless. Albany shot just 39 percent from the floor and went 3-of-16 from beyond the arc.
Von Rosenberg (13 points) and senior Michael Turner (11 points) also finished in double figures for the Hawks. Torres, making his fourth straight start for the injured Joe Zeglinski, added eight points and a career-high six rebounds. Head coach Dan Leibovitz improved to 3-0 in America East openers.
Hartford will next play at the University of New Hampshire on Wednesday, January 7 at 7 p.m.
